XA465 Contact Officers (Advanced Level - Despatcher) **External**

Wakefield
£19,719 - £21,837 per annum/pro rata plus 20% shift allowance and 14.03% weekend enhancements
THE FOLLOWING VACANCY HAS BEEN ADVERTISED EXTERNALLY

Contact Officers (Advanced Level – Despatcher)
Operational Support
Contact Management Centre
Wakefield

Are you ready for a new and exciting challenge?

Do you enjoy variety in your working week, where no two days are the same?

Do you believe in making our communities safe and feeling safer?

Then this could be the role for you!

As a Contact Officer, whose primary role is to despatch, you will be responsible for the crucial task of communicating with front line officers and managing calls for service 24/7 to ensure that they are appropriately prioritised and managed.

You will have enthusiasm and a positive attitude towards delivering an effective and efficient service on behalf of the Force and will support the development of a One Team approach in the new Contact Management Centre.

This is a fundamental role in West Yorkshire Police and requires someone who is passionate to protect and serve the public. From the moment you take control of an incident you will play a vital role in ensuring that we deliver an excellent service to members of the communities we serve.

Can you make sound decisions and think logically?

Can you remain calm under pressure?

Are you an excellent communicator?

Can you prioritise and multi-task?

If so, we want to hear from you.


The Job

We are currently recruiting Contact Officers (Advanced Level) to join our new Contact Management Centre which is based over two sites at Wakefield and Dudley Hill Bradford. Current vacancies are at our Wakefield Contact Management Centre site.

The Contact Centre currently take approximately 2 million calls per year, deal with thousands of visitors to our Helpdesks and processes over 750,000 crime and incident reports.

As a despatcher, you will provide our front line officers with detailed information, so that we can deliver the West Yorkshire Police’s vision to the public. You will have responsibility for managing calls for service 24/7 and communicating with front line officers ensuring that the calls for service are appropriately prioritised and managed. The actions you take during those critical first minutes of an incident will shape our initial response and directly impact on the eventual outcome.

As a despatcher you will also provide resilience to the 999 emergency call handling function.

We want to hear from you, if you….

Feel you have the rights skills and experience to help us deliver excellent service in this complex customer focussed environment and could portray a positive image of West Yorkshire Police to the public we serve.

The Person

To be successful in this demanding role, you will already have experience of computer packages such as Microsoft Office, and the ability to successfully complete various IT courses required for this role.

You must have a minimum typing speed of 28 wpm and a good command of English both verbal and written.

You must be able to work as part of a team.

We are looking for candidates who are prepared to work flexible hours to suit the requirements of the Contact Management Centre in order that we can keep our communities safe. You must be willing to work a full rotating shift pattern (covering 24 hours, 365 days) as required.

Candidates with previous experience of working in a call centre or despatch centre environment would be desirable.

The Shift Pattern

Full Time - 24/7 consisting of 2 early shifts, 2 late shifts, 2 nights followed by 4 rest days.

Job Share – 24/7 consisting of a repeating pattern - 2 early shifts and 1 late shift followed by 10 rest days, then 1 late shift, 2 night shifts followed by 4 rest days.

Please Note:

Successful candidates MUST complete the initial 9 week FULL TIME classroom based training which is essential for the role before going on to be mentored on your agreed shift pattern for a further 3 to 6 weeks. The training is held at various West Yorkshire Police locations.

Benefits:

Holidays

• 25 days holidays per year (pro rata) rising to 30 days over time and in line with your grade and length of service.

Discounts

• You can also appreciate discounts from major retailers and the opportunity to join different sports and social clubs

Next Step

Still interested?

Please complete the application form attached.

These vacancies are suitable for job share. The application process will close at 23:55 hours on 2nd January 2019.

Please note : Applicants who are not currently working within West Yorkshire Police are not expected to be able to meet the ‘Scale 4 Essential Criteria’ as described within the ‘Expertise in Role’ section of the role profile, but will be expected to meet the ‘Scale 3 Essential Criteria’ as described within the role profile.

We appreciate the time and effort that goes into completing a job application, so to help you prepare for this, please consider the following guidance prior to submitting your application. Remember this is you opportunity to demonstrate why you should be selected for the next phase of the recruitment process.

When completing your application ensure that:-

• All information provided is honest and accurate

• Your application meets the essential requirements on the role profile

• You provide evidence of how your previous experience, skills and abilities demonstrate how you meet the essential requirements of the role.

• You provide a full and continuous history of your education/training and unemployment/work experience.

• You have checked all spelling and grammar. Do not rely solely on computer spellcheckers.

• You use the Competency and Value framework below.

This document will assist you in completing the Evidence of Achievement section of the application form: http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Development/competency-and-values-framework/Documents/Competency-and-Values-Framework-for-Policing_4.11.16.pdf (This link may be copied and pasted into your browser).

Please note: the evidence of Achievement section will not be visible until the employment section has been completed.

Do Not:-

• Only tell us that you can fulfil the criteria on the role profile without further explanation and example.

Want to make your application stand out:-

• Give us a full picture of your ability to undertake the role by submitting a well-structured, informative and interesting application.

• Answer each question fully by providing us with evidence that best demonstrates your suitability for the role.

Selection

Once you have submitted your application our Recruitment team will shortlist candidates and invite successful candidates to attend a Familiarisation Event/Assessment Centre. This will last approximately 3 hours, and take place between 3rd and 5th January 2019.

On successful completion of the Assessment Centre you will be invited to attend a competency based interview. These interviews will take place between 9th and 12th January 2019.

West Yorkshire Police is committed to improving the diversity of its workforce to better reflect the diverse communities we serve. We welcome application from all minority groups and individuals who identify with one or more of the protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
20%, Weekend Enhancements

This opportunity is closed to applications.